If you have old ideas about Tory Burch as a line full of logo medallions and sensible preppiness, it's probably long past time to be a little more open-minded about what Burch and her team are doing at the ever-expanding, ever-evolving contemporary brand they've built into an empire. The logos and well-scrubbed conventionality still exist within the brand's accessories line, of course, but that's true for a lot of brands whose scale requires that they maximize the number of consumers they reach--after all, women need things they can carry to work and that will look presentable for more than a season or two. What Burch does with her seasonal collections is far more sophisticated and interesting, though, and its well worth your attention (and, potentially, your dollars).

Tory Burch's inspiration for Pre-Fall 2017 was globetrotting Italian furniture designer and spirtualist Gabriella Crespi, and the clothes and bags mine the gypset look and come up with Moroccan and Indian influences in 70s hues. The most notable new design of the bunch is a big-buckled saddle bag, which comes in patchwork and studded versions but is most compelling in a single color of nubuck with tonal covered hardware.

If you've been reading these posts for a while, you probably know that my tone can veer toward snarky from time to time. Ladies and gents, nothing tests my powers of snark-restraint like writing about the Real Housewives of Basically Anywhere. I do try to hold back, because even though Real Housewives are easy targets, we mustn't forget that they are real people, too.

Yes, they actively court the paparazzi on a pre-Kanye Kardashian level, and yes, some of them have made an art out of turning every mundane aspect of their lives into a Life & Style section headline, but they are, at heart, human beings like the rest of us...with amazinghandbags. Check out a few of their latest bag picks below.

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Alexia Echevarria
Chanel Timeless Clutch

That Chanel clutch is the only thing that's timeless about this outfit. (And yes, that joke practically wrote itself.) What exactly is happening here? Are those palazzo pants? I don't watch Real Housewives of Miami; is this the sort of garb that's de riguer?

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Bethenny Frankel
Rag & Bone Enfield Mini Bag

Here's Bethenny Frankel, letting someone have it in NYC while carrying a sweet little bag from Rag & Bone. I love all things Rag & Bone, but this brand is pretty downmarket for Bethenny. We generally see her carrying Hermès, Chanel or Céline.

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Joanna Krupa
Tory Burch Ella Nylon Tote

The Real Housewives of Miami are 0-2 this week. I really do try not to snark on people's personal style, so let's talk about that BAG. It's an oversized tote with a giant Tory Burch logo on it, but it draws the eye away from the rest of the outfit, so let's just say that I'm a fan.

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Kenya Moore
Hermès Birkin

At least we can rely on the Real Housewives of Atlanta to keep it high-end. Kenya's bright red Birkin actually makes her entire ensemble pop. Remember kids, Birkins aren't just five-figure lifestyle statements.

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Kyle Richards
Saint Laurent Monogramme Suede Tote

The further we get from Miami, the better. Here's Kyle Richards, ambling around Beverly Hills, per usual, with a gorgeous suede Saint Laurent bag.

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Lisa Vanderpump
Saint Laurent Monogramme Tote

But wait, here's Lisa Vanderpump exiting the Villa Blanca restaurant a few blocks away, carrying what is essentially the same bag (with a few obvious variations in size and detailing). BAG WARS.

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Yolanda Foster
Hermès Birkin

Finally, someone recently spotted RHOBH's Yolanda Foster handling a five dollar bill like a mere mortal. She's got her own Birkin, of course, but this one is obviously one of the smaller versions, and its exact color remains a mystery.

I doubt Tory Burch would be irritated to hear me say that hers is not a “heritage” brand by any stretch of the imagination. It hasn’t outfitted anyone for wars or saddled up any horses in its time, and that’s fine; not even billionaire Burch can go back in time and move back the birth of her brand by 100 years. Heritage is big business, though – high-end customers place tons of value on a brand’s history, and that’s probably why the brand new Tory Burch Saddalrina Large Saddle looks like it could be based on an archival bag from the brand’s imagined past.

Or, perhaps, from a brand like Coach’s actual past. The shape and finish of the leather remind me a lot of both the Coach bags my mom carried when I was a kid and the highly-prized classic Coach finds you can occasionally uncover in a vintage store. The long shoulder strap, the medium-tone gold hardware, the glossy-but-not-shiny finish of the leather – it’s all exactly right. Tory even did herself a favor and omitted her signature logo hardware, opting instead for a block T built into the bag’s turnlock closure. (Turnlock! Another classic Coach-esque thing.)

Coach doesn’t capitalize on interest in vintage-looking bags like this quite as ardently as it could, so, to be perfectly frank, I’m glad someone is. At Burch’s price point, this is what heritage looks like, and this bag does a great job pretending that it has a carefully cataloged predecessor from decades past sitting in an archive somewhere.

It’s hard for contemporary designers to step outside of a contemporary price point without arousing ire from its customers. It stands to reason that a huge portion of the fans of a brand like Tory Burch appreciate the designer’s work because they feel like it provides a good value for their dollar or inhabits a price range with which they’re reasonably comfortable. When those brands attempt to push upward, not only do those fans sometimes not follow, but they often become vocally angry – how dare a brand get too big for its price-britches!

As you might have guessed from the title of this post, the Tory Burch Attersee Chevron Satchel, above, costs $995. The bag is rendered in suede and wool, replete with numerous tiny beads and a few larger stones to cap off the bag’s closure. It’s detailed, lush and on trend in a lot of ways for fall. It’s jewelry, a sweater and a handbag all rolled into one, and considered all the disparate elements, it pulls off the look fairly well. (I’m not so sure about the stones at the top, but other than that, it’s a beautifully intricate bag.) Fine materials don’t necessarily impress fans of contemporary brands, though, if the price is similarly fine. That’s not what they signed up for, after all, and snakeskin and fur ventures by brands like Coach prove that pretty well, at least in consumer reaction. One needs only peek inside our PurseForum to pick up on that vibe.

Despite the fact that I know this bag isn’t any more overpriced for what it is than any other bag on the market from a similar brand, I still couldn’t put my money down for it, even if I loved it. In my head, the perceived value of a Tory Burch bag tops out at about $197, and it would probably take a slow, steady climb for the brand to exceed that figure for me. What about you? Can you envision a Tory Burch bag that would make you part with a grand? Is this one it?

We’re already visited one elaborate, fashionable, ladylike garden party this New York Fashion Week, and that was between Kate Spade’s expertly trimmed hedges. Today, we’re off to see what’s going on in Tory Burch’s backyard, and it’s pretty gorgeous. Withe Tory Burch Spring 2014, the designer has found her stride, or at least a stride; the collection is neatly clustered around a clear theme, and the variations that it takes as the collection progresses are nothing short of lovely.

It’s with not-so-mild surprise that I admit that Burch managed to take something that can be accurately described as a “floral fanny pack” and make it something that a woman might actually want to wear, but she did just that. Vogue‘s Hamish Bowles described the collection as “tightly controlled,” and that’s probably the best phrase to use when talking about how Burch approached her use of florals and garden motifs. Where Kate Spade went quirky, Burch elegant. Both approaches are interesting in their own ways, but the clothes and bags in this collection look a lot more expensive than they likely will be, which is always a nice thing for consumers.Although maybe the prices are just going up.

Shop Tory Burch’s current collection via Bloomingdale’s or check out the images of her newest line below.